Böcker av Linda Rae Sande

A mutual tale of mutual shyness and masterful slynessWhen the painfully shy Baron David Engleston receives an invitation to join a friend for a few days of playing cards and dancing at the Soho Club, he accepts. Given the incessant rain falling on all of England, he may as well spend some time in the capital. He can feel glum there just as well as in Kent-at least until the moment a young lady in a yellow gown appears from the room adjacent to his and asks, "Are you my betrothed?"Miss Marian Copper has come to the Soho Club in the company of her uncle and guardian, the Earl of Penhurst, believing he has arranged a marriage on her behalf. So when she nearly collides with a handsome man at the club, she assumes he's the one, especially when he doesn't hesitate to reply, "Why, yes. Yes I am."Without so much as an introduction, these two embark on one of the shortest betrothals possible. Given the earl's ridiculous terms and conditions, can there be a happily ever after in their future? Well, this is the Soho Club.

A kiss in the gardens. A ruined reputation. A wager without a winner.Having been caught kissing an earl's heir in the gardens during a ball, Miss Lucy Fitzsimmons has been relegated to the company of potted palms and wallflowers at London entertainments. Despite behaving as a perfect young lady up until that fateful night, she knows time won't lessen the stain on her reputation. She'll rarely be asked to dance, nor does she expect to be courted by anyone, but then given the terms of the wager, she won't need to-her brother apparently gave the rake permission to court her!One thing is certain-when Marcus Higgins returns in two years, she intends to collect what she's owed. They had made a wager, and she won.Meanwhile, Marcus has disappeared from London. The second son of the late Earl of Greenley, he left on a Grand Tour the day after he accepted the terms of a wager and kissed the young woman he has secretly been in love with since they were children. Two years away from her will be torture-he can't get her out of his mind. His only saving grace is they made a wager, and he's quite sure he was the winner. When he returns to British shores, a surprise for Lucy's brother in tow, Marcus is determined to collect what he's owed.

A young suitor with his eyes on a forbidden love... and an old feud that threatens to tear them apart.Locked in a secret romance with the stunning Lady Amelia, Philip, the Earl of Crawford is determined to win her hand in marriage... but if her pompous brother Alfred catches wind, he fears their old University feud will shatter their chance at love.Michael is no stranger to heartbreak - and he's dead set on not letting his son Philip experience the same pain. But the reclusive widower's mission to save their courtship brings him face-to-face with a long-lost love - the Duchess Helena, Lady Amelia's mother. Can they rekindle their spark after three decades apart? And will Helena ever approve of her daughter's secretive suitor?Meanwhile, Philip's sister Violet hatches a plan to draw both families together. She catches the eye of Helena's son Alfred - but what begins as a fake courtship quickly begins to become all too real. Is she willing to sacrifice the future for her brother and best friend? Or are these two families fated to remain apart?

She's a former courtesan. He was once her favorite client. Will a conniving earl thwart a matchmaker's efforts to see them reunited? Newly widowed viscountess and mother to a young boy, Annabelle reluctantly returns to London in the hopes of securing invitations to Society events. Although she's more than able to run the Burwick viscountcy on behalf of her son, Benton is in need of a titled father to help him along in life. Worried someone will recognize her-she was one of the ladies of The Elegant Courtesan before Burwick made her his viscountess and took her off to his country estate-Annabelle soon realizes she can't hide her identity when one of her former clients confronts her. Embarrassed and angered by his overtures, Annabelle decides to leave her fate in the hands of matchmaker Bessie Dove-Lyon. As a lieutenant colonel in the British Army and the second son of an earl, Jeffrey never expected to inherit an earldom and have to marry. Now he's in a quandary. He's in desperate need of funds, for the Year of No Summer has left the earldom's coffers empty. When he spies his favorite flame-haired courtesan in a tailor's shop with a young boy, Jeffrey doesn't realize she's become a respectable lady. His comment about her son is mistaken as an insult, and he fears he may have missed his opportunity with the woman he still finds irresistible. Learning he can win a wealthy woman in a game of chance at The Lyon's Den, Jeffrey agrees to the Black Widow of Whitehall's matchmaking method. When he discovers Annabelle is the prize, the stakes may be more than he can afford, for if she ends up in the arms of a man he trusts, his heart-and a friendship-will surely be broken.

A snow angel maker. A reclusive duke. Can her love of life free him from his fear? When Andrew, Duke of Suffolk, learns of a snow angel embossed in the new-fallen snow outside his house, he's curious as to who created it. Footsteps in the snow might help identify the culprit, but his valet claims no one has seen a trespasser on the Dunfey Park grounds. Upon discovering a snow angel in the making from his window, its creator displaying an infectious expression of joy, he's determined to meet her-even if it requires him to venture outside the safety of his home.With her father and oldest brother stuck in London due to the wintery weather, Angelika overcomes boredom by making snow angels. She grew up hearing tales of the duke who lives next door. He's hideous. He's a beast. He's so disfigured, he can never venture outside. Caught by a handsome man whilst creating a snow angel at Dunfey Park, she's about to run when curiosity has her conversing with him. He seems eager to make a snow angel and actually does so when he suddenly falls backward in a dead faint!What's a girl to do but have him brought to her home? Once he awakens, Andrew and Angelika spend a delightful afternoon together. But can their fledgling love last given his crippling condition? Can a lifetime of fear be overcome with angel's dust, falling stars, and the magic of the Season? An angel may be the perfect antidote for a reclusive duke in The Snow Angel of a Duke.

He left her at the altar. She married another. Can he thaw her heart on the coldest night of the year?Dowager Duchess Katherine is enjoying a winter in Wiltshire when a blizzard brings a half-frozen man to her door seeking refuge from the storm. Providing hospitality to the man who left her at the altar twenty-five years ago isn't exactly her idea of a happy Christmas, but there is something different about him. After a horrific accident leaves his traveling coach engulfed in flames on the coldest night of the winter, Thomas, Duke of Pendleton, walks for miles in search of a light. Nearly frozen, he ends up in the care of his first love, a woman who married another when his duty to the Crown interfered. Although he had different plans for how he was going to spend Christmas, he soon changes his mind-especially when he learns Katherine's secret. Will she give him the second chance he so desperately needs? Or allow him to carry out his desperate plan for the holiday? Perhaps a winter kiss is all it will take for everyone to have a Happy Christmas.

Two young men in search of wives. A list of eligible young ladies. A father intent on matchmaking. A daughter with no intention of marrying. What can go wrong?Inspired by his father's marriage to a dowager duchess, Ertürul heads to London with his English friend David Bennett-Jones, heir to the Bostwick viscountcy. They plan to attend the Season's entertainments, intent on finding brides. Heir to a sultanate, Ertürul hasn't yet started his harem, but if he finds true love with a young lady, he may forgo concubines. Spending a Season in Mayfair with the Bennett-Joneses will surely prove as rewarding as his time was attending Cambridge University. That is, if he can convince a certain young miss that she's the one for him.When her brother, David, returns from spending three years in the Ottoman Empire-with a handsome prince in tow-Adeline welcomes the opportunity to introduce them to her unmarried friends. She may not be interested in marriage for herself, but she's determined to find a husband for Lady Rose, and who better than Ertürul? Even if she suffered a debilitating accident, Rose is a duke's daughter-and there aren't any unwed princesses for an intriguing sultan's son.While the three attend balls and soirées, each with their own agendas, they will soon discover that instead of searching for their perfect matches, their matches may find them-if they haven't already.

Are liquor, candy, a privateer, and a confectioner the ingredients for a sweet deal?After Captain Edward Poulsen buys his ship, Caton, at a naval auction, he accepts his first consignment as a privateer-to transport tubs of brandy from France to Cornwall. There the brandy will be let down and colored with caramel syrup, a process done by a confectioner in the small village of Swain Cove. Curious to learn if Caramel and Sons is even a legitimate concern-Edward is fairly sure there's something fishy going on-he pays a call on the shop, only to discover there are no sons-only a lovely young woman who stares at him in wonder. When a handsome stranger arrives at her candy shop, Catherine Bristow is stunned. She'd been imagining someone like him might enter her life one day, and she greets him with a passionate kiss. Once she recovers from her embarrassment, Catherine offers to show Edward the operation, eager to prove she and her father can do the job for which they've been hired. Impressed by the candy maker's skills, Edward soon finds he's sweet on her. Will his new responsibilities in London sour their burgeoning relationship or merely sweeten the deal? It seems smuggling isn't the only secret in Swain Cove.

One last will and testament. Four cooked books. A pinch of holiday magic. Is this a recipe for a happily-ever-after? Estranged from her son, the new Earl of Montaine, widowed countess Elaine is spending Christmastide at the Soho Club. She's determined to learn her late husband's secrets from his last will and testament, sure he was hiding something from her. Some of the language is confusing, though, the legalese foreign to her.When widower Edward, Marquess of Delton, discovers his man of business has been embezzling, he escapes to the Soho Club with the marquessate's ledgers, determined to learn how much damage has been done. During breakfast, a fellow peer's recommendation has Edward seeking Elaine's help. In exchange for a review of his ledgers, he'll read and interpret the will. Over the course of a single day and night, the Soho Club will cast its spell on these two lonely souls as they share their secrets, learn new ones, and allow the magic of the season to create one of their own.

Él gobierna como un hombre roto. Sin embargo, ¿podrá ella recomponerlo?Tras el devastador incendio que mató a su familia y atormentado por sus horribles cicatrices, Joshua Wainwright comienza su mandato como duque de Chichester como un hombre roto. Obligado a llevar una máscara que le cubre la mitad de la cara, Joshua lucha con el peaje emocional de sus cicatrices y la sensación de que nunca encontrará una mujer que le ame de verdad.Cuando le roban el futuro tras la muerte de su prometido, Lady Charlotte se encuentra en la desesperada necesidad de encontrar a alguien con quien casarse. Siempre ha estado enamorada en secreto de Joshua, y con su futuro en la incertidumbre, está decidida a conquistar el corazón del duque y demostrarle su amor.Incapaz de deshacerse de la sensación de que Charlotte sólo se casará con él por obligación, Joshua se esfuerza por resistirse a sus encantos. Pero cuando un pretendiente sorpresa aparece para tomar la mano de Charlotte, se ve obligado a enfrentarse a sus sentimientos y a tomar una decisión que marcará el futuro de ambos para siempre...¿Podrá Joshua abrir su corazón a Charlotte y admitir sus sentimientos por ella? ¿O se le escapará entre los dedos su única oportunidad de conseguir el amor verdadero?

George, Viscount Hexham, is quite literally thunderstruck when he meets Lady Anne in the park, and he can't get her off his mind. Her brother, Gabe, is happy to act as a matchmaker, never once mentioning he might already be acting on behalf of the other side. Can two who are so perfectly matched end up married before Anne must endure her first Season in London?Meanwhile, when a neighbor appears to be spying on George's twin sister through the telescope in his garden observatory, an incensed Lady Angelica is determined to give him a piece of her mind. Sir Benjamin may end up with her heart as well, as mistletoe and moonlight work their magic in The Angel of an Astronomer.

A sensual tale of an imagination run amok.A widower with a daughter of marriageable age, Marcus Lancaster, a viscount, is in possession of an imagination capable of conjuring all manner of situations preferable to the one in finds himself in. One such dream includes him in the company of Lady Wadsworth, a widow and the new matchmaker at Lady E's 'Finding Wives for the Wounded.' He secretly pined for Charity even when he was in university. Now that he's seeing to the come-out for his daughter, Analise, Marcus would like nothing more than to make Charity his wife.Having suffered a horrible marriage to the Earl of Wadsworth, Charity wants nothing more than to enjoy her widowhood in quiet solitude. She accepts the challenge of becoming a matchmaker for wounded soldiers when the opportunity presents itself, if only so she can ensure future marriages are born of affection rather than duty. Not interested in entering into another ton union, she doesn't appreciate the advances shown by Lord Lancaster. Their brief times together led him to experience daydreams in which Charity features as the only other participant.That the man would imagine the two of them engaged in all manner of situations in which she would rather not find herself, Charity soon wonders if maybe she should become a willing participant-in the real world. What could go wrong? Reality proves as enchanting as imagination in The Charity of a Viscount.

Things are not always as they seem; the first appearance deceives many. - PhaedrusWhen widower and bank clerk Theodore Streater discovers his late mother was not only the headmistress of Warwick's Grammar and Finishing School, but also its owner, he's in need of someone to run the rather lucrative enterprise. He turns to the woman who helped him regain his position at the bank after he lost an arm fighting in Belgium. His best friend's wife, Elizabeth Bennett-Jones, Viscountess Bostwick, still runs her charity, Finding Work for the Wounded. She is sure there's an applicant who would be perfect as headmistress of her old school.Having lost her position as an operative with the Home Office-her slight limp from a gunshot wound is hard to hide-Daisy Albright is at a loss as to what to do next. She could return to her father's home. The Duke of Ariley would like nothing more than to have his oldest illegitimate daughter under his protection until a suitable marriage can be arranged. But after several years of handling her own affairs away from the aristocracy, Daisy is determined to retain her independence.So when Viscountess Bostwick informs her she has a position in mind, Daisy immediately pays a call on the new owner of Warwick's to apply. Poor Teddy Streater has no idea what he's in for when he hires the ex-spy to run the finishing school. He would prefer to court the comely lady who seems prim and proper, but what woman wants to marry a man with only one arm? Perhaps he should be in search of a mistress. Trouble is, he can only imagine Miss Albright in the role in The Conundrum of a Clerk.

When Lady Isabella thinks she has witnessed the murder of her mother-by her father, the Earl of Craythorne-she rides off to London in search of the man her mother, Arabella, instructed she contact lest anything befall her.Directions send Isabella to the doors of The Elegant Courtesan, a high-end brothel owned by David Fitzwilliam, Earl of Norwick, to whom she relates her gruesome tale. Stunned and heartbroken at hearing the fate of Arabella, David vows to ensure Isabella's safety from Craythorne, and he enlists the aid of Octavius, Duke of Huntington, to provide protection and a home in the country, where she won't be found. He would do it himself, but he's due to marry the girl's aunt, Lady Clarinda, and has some courting to do- his twin brother seems determined to make her his own wife.Still suffering from the loss of his wife in childbirth, Octavius has long since given up the joy he took in his race horses-choosing to ignore his stables and country estate and live in London, immersed in reading and attending sessions of Parliament.Not particularly pleased with having a ward, Octavius soon discovers Isabella's passion for horses goes far beyond just riding them. With a new generation of racehorses in his stables, and his country estate suddenly in pristine condition, he may just experience some horse sense himself in The Dream of a Duchess.

Love looks with the mind, but not with the eye... which explains Cupid's successWhen Baron Jasper Henley is caught kissing a marquess' niece in the gardens during a ball, he agrees to marry the girl. It's not the first time he's been forced to marry-he and his late wife had been caught kissing in front of the same fountain prior to his marriage proposal-but he had always intended to marry Sophie.While on a visit to London to visit her uncle and his new wife, Marianne Slater is happy to attend the Season's entertainments-even if she can't see very well. The world is a blur unless it's close-up. Usually a wallflower at balls, Marianne is stunned when a gentleman approaches and offers to escort her in the gardens. A clear-eyed innocent kiss suddenly results in the blurry whirlwind of a quick wedding and its subsequent aftermath.Determined to show his new bride the wonders of the ancient world as part of his next archaeological expedition-their wedding trip-Jasper will do whatever it takes to see to it Marianne can see more clearly. But as things come into focus for her, Jasper may find his own vision clouded by an unexpected revelation. Can the insights he discovers from bits of history open his eyes to future possibilities? He may prefer blindness in The Vision of a Viscountess.